Share this Story

As Major League Baseball players head to Florida and Arizona for the start of spring training, one Native free agent remains unsigned: Star pitcher Kyle Lohse, 34. Repped by ruthless superagent Scott Boras, Lohse, who went 16-3 for the St. Louis Cardinals last season, is suprisingly still seeking a new team. Although a number of clubs have been interested in the starting righthander's services, including the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers, rumors are now circulating that the Washington Nationals are most likely to land the Nomlaki Wintun Indian from Chico, California. ESPN's take: "Nationals must sign Kyle Lohse. Washington has little to lose and lots to gain by bringing on the righty."

Lohse is 118-109 for his career and won a World Series with the Cards in 2011. In 2012 Lohse had his best season yet, posting a career low ERA of 2.86. He also topped his highs in innings pitched (211) and strikeouts (143). The 6'2", 210-pound hurler earned nearly $12 million last season.

Meanwhile in Yankees country, relief pitcher Joba Chamberlain, Winnebago Nation, is having to play nice with a formerly despised Red Sox rival, third/first baseman Kevin Youkilis. New York signed free agent Youkilis in December, and the career .283 slugger is likely relieved that he'll no longer be hitting against Chamberlain, who fired a few high-and-tight heaters in the general direction of his head in recent years, except possibly in batting practice (recall Yankee Derek Jeter's first BP session with newly aquired and longtime Red Sox adversary Roger Clemens? Jeter donned catcher's protective gear).

But the New York Daily News reports that there were no hard feelings expressed between Joba and Youk when they met face-to-face for the first time in the Yankees clubhouse on February 15.

“I said hi to Joba today; we shook hands, he’s growing a mustache,” Youkilis told the Daily News. “It’s all good. Tomorrow we’ll hug and it will all be fun. Everything is good. Life is good. There’s no reason to get all worked up on the second day.”

You need to be logged in in order to post commentsPlease use the log in option at the bottom of this page